The Power of Love
by Charmeleon
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. This is a fic set in Ancient Egypt when Yami is pharaoh. Better description inside.
1. Birth of a Prince

I've read quite a few fics that were set in the time when Yami was pharaoh. I decided to write my own. This story does mention the characters who appear in the show a lot, but centers mostly around Yami and Yugi. Before you jump to conclusions, this is not a "Yami is pharaoh, Yugi is a slave" fic. The connection between Yami and Yugi in this fic is something that not many authors done. I won't tell you what it is now because you'll find out in the first seven paragraphs.  
' is thoughts  
_Italicized words are song lyrics_  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: Birth of a Prince  
  
It was a glorious day in the southern kingdom of Egypt. The sun was shining bright, and the temperature was hot. The kingdom itself was golden, making it look more glorious when the sun's light shone on it. In the pharaoh's palace, Pharaoh Yami's wife Nina had just given birth to a healthy baby boy. They and the ones inside the palace were overjoyed. Then the priestess Isis looked at the child then back at Yami.  
"He almost looks exactly like you my pharaoh," Isis said.  
It was true. The boy had red, black and blonde hair like his father, except he didn't have the bangs going through his hair. They both had violet eyes, except the child's were wide and childlike whereas Yami's were more mature.  
"He has you eyes Nina," Yami said.  
"Yes he does," Nina agreed. Like her son, she had wide and childlike violet eyes.  
"So, what shall you call him?" Marik asked.  
"His name is Yugi," Nina responded.  
Yami then gently picked his infant son up and went out to his balcony. The entire population had gathered to welcome the new prince into Egypt. Yami was a very benevolent ruler. He ruled with wisdom, patience, love, kindness, trust and respect, but he was the best at delivering justice when the need came for it.  
"My people, Ra has smiled on us this day. He has allowed us to have a prince. Say hello to prince Yugi," Yami said before lifting Yugi up for the crowd to see.  
The crowd cheered for the new prince. "May Ra bless you young prince. Ra bless the pharaoh and his wife," it chorused.   
Yami went back inside and put Yugi back with Nina. Then something moved in the Shadows. Three human-looking creatures came out of them. Yami smiled. These three figures were the Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl and Celtic Guardian.  
"Ah, Mystio, Mystia, Celti, how nice to see you on this glorious day," Yami said.  
"We wouldn't miss this day for the world. Your other monsters in the Shadow Realm can't be still because they're so excited about it finally happening," Mystio said.  
"He looks like you my lord," Mystia said.  
"And he has his mother's eyes," Celti added.  
"I wonder where Seth and Bakura are. It's not like them to be late," Marik said.  
"Yes, that is weird. I hope that they're okay," Nina said.  
Just then, a large shadow loomed over the crowd. The crowd went into an uproar. Yami and Mystio went out to the balcony to see what all the commotion was about. They looked up and saw the Blue Eyes White Dragon hovering above the crowd. Upon closer look, they could see two figures on its back.  
"What is it Blue?" Yami asked.  
Blue flew over and hovered in front of the balcony. Yami and Mystio gasped when they got a good look at the two figures on her back. It was Seth and Bakura, and they were seriously injured.  
"Celti, I need your help over here," Mystio said.  
Celti went over to help. He gasped upon seeing Seth and Bakura. He picked up Seth, and Mystio picked up Bakura. Then they and Yami went back inside. The others were very worried and worried even more upon seeing Seth and Bakura.  
"Mystica, we need you," Nina called out.  
A blue light lit the room, and the Mystical Elf appeared out of it. Then the light dimmed.  
"Oh my, what happened?" Mystica asked when she saw Seth and Bakura.  
"That's what we need to find out my healer," Nina responded.  
Mystica nodded and began to chant. Soon, Seth and Bakura were completely healed. Seeing that her master was okay, Blue faded into the Shadow Realm, waiting for when she would be needed again. Seth and Bakura regained consciousness and sat up.  
"Are you guys all right?" Yami asked.  
"We are now. Thank you Mystica," Bakura responded.  
"No problem," Mystica said before returning to the Shadow Realm.  
"What happened?" Marik asked.  
"I'm afraid we have bad news. Pharaoh Rameus has broken the truce. There was an attack on the far side of the kingdom. Bakura and I went to investigate, but the Shadow Monsters jumped us. I was barely able to summon Blue," Seth responded.  
That was not what Yami and the others needed to hear. It had been a good day until this point. Yami and Nina feared for their son's safety now. It was a struggle to get the stubborn pharaoh of the northern kingdom to agree to a truce in the first place. Now that the truce was broken, it was safe to assume that Yugi's life was now in high danger.  
"We must keep Yugi safe. I have no doubt that he will be a target now," Yami said.  
The others nodded. They didn't have any longer to ponder because the palace shook. The crowd dispersed in fright. The palace was under attack.  
"Mystia, stay with Nina and Yugi. Keep them safe. Celti, you help out too. The rest of you come with me," Yami said.  
Seth summoned Blue, Yami summoned Drago, the Curse of Dragon and Winged Dragon, Bakura summoned Angelica, the Change of Heart, and Marik summoned the Winged Dragon of Ra. Then the humans and Shadow Monsters went off into battle. The army of the northern kingdom had pretty weak Shadow Monsters for the most part. Those Shadow Monsters were only strong enough to kill people. But that's what the northern kingdom only trained their monsters for anyway, killing people.  
This was a very bad thing for them because Yami and his advisors' monsters were very strong. The inevitable was that the northern kingdom's monsters would be easily defeated. That was the case. Mystio, Drago, Winged Dragon of Ra and Blue didn't even break a sweat. Angelica turned some of the northern kingdom's monsters against their own comrades, and those monsters sent each other to the Shadow Realm.  
But what Yami and his advisors didn't know is that they fell right into their enemy's hands. The northern kingdom's monsters had led them away from the palace. The plan was for the powerful monsters to be led away so that the infant prince would be vulnerable. Rameus heard about the birth of the new prince and wanted the prince dead.  
"You haven't defeated us yet Yami. We don't have all weak monsters in our army. You fell into our plan. You are far from the palace, and the Thousand Dragon is heading for the palace now," Rameus said from aboard his Great Stone Dragon.  
Then the Great Stone Dragon attacked Drago. Drago did its best to evade the attacks. Yami on the other hand was about to make Drago's fight a little easier. He summoned Gaia and fused it with Drago to create Gaia the Dragon Champion  
"Slifer, hear my call. Come to me and help me save my family," Yami said.  
A large rippling effect of power flowed through the air. Then a mighty roar almost shook the sky. Soon, a large two-headed red dragon appeared in front of Yami. Slifer had arrived. It then put one of its two heads on Drago so Yami could climb on. Yami got on Slifer, and Slifer headed back for the palace.  
"We need to hurry. Mystia and Celti aren't powerful enough to handle Thousand Dragon," Yami said.  
Slifer nodded and sped up through the air. Meanwhile at the palace, the Thousand Dragon had launched an all out assault. Yami's room had been left in ruins. Mystia and Celti tried to fend off the Thousand Dragon, but they weren't strong enough and were sent back to the Shadow Realm.  
Yugi and Nina were under all the debris of the once beautiful room. Nina used her body as a shield to protect Yugi. Yugi would've surely died if not for Nina's fast thinking. However, the weight of all the debris had crushed her legs and stomach. She was quickly fading into oblivion. She was too weak to summon Mystica and Yami was battling the northern kingdom's monsters. Yami was the only one other than Nina who could summon Mystica.  
"Yugi...I'm...sorry...that...I...won't...see...you...grow...up," Nina said.  
Slifer arrived at the palace. He was horrified and angry at what he saw. The Thousand Dragon didn't notice Slifer yet and continued to destroy the room. Slifer attacked and the Thousand Dragon was sent back to the Shadow Realm. Slifer got close enough to the balcony, and Yami jumped off and onto the balcony. He was horrified when he saw the damage.  
"Yugi! Nina!" he called. He got no answere. He feared the worst until he heard a soft cry coming from under the debris.  
The Eye of Horus shone brightly on his crown as he started removing the debris. Slifer helped to clear the debris. Soon, Yami was greeted with a horrifying sight. Nina's body was completely crushed. He very gently moved her. He saw that she held Yugi in a weakened grip.   
"Yami...please...take...care...of...our...son," Nina said very weakly.  
"I will Nina," Yami said, tears coming out of his eyes.  
Nina gave Yugi to Yami right before she breathed her last and her eyes closed. Yami wept over his wife's death. But in his grief, he was a lot more determined to make sure Yugi would be safe. The other advisors made it back soon afterwards. Seeing Nina dead devastated them. But they were also more determined to make sure that Yugi would be safe.  
All of the good people of the kingdom wept over the loss of their queen. It then clouded up and started to rain. It was if the gods themselves were weeping as well. But this wouldn't change anything. The kingdom would still flourish.  
"I will not let Nina's death be in vain. I will make Rameus pay for what he did to us," Yami said. "But we have more important things to worry about. The safety of my son and my kingdom are my top priorities."  
"Agreed my pharaoh," the officials said.  
It took a while for things to pick up where they left off before the attack on the southern kingdom's palace. Within a year and a half's time, the destroyed sections of the palace were rebuilt and things had gone somewhat back to normal. Nina's death would still be engraved in everyone's minds. It was a really tough blow for Yami because he loved Nina more than life itself. He tried to find someone else to marry, but he couldn't find anyone that he could love like he loved Nina.  
Yugi was one-year old now. Yami knew that the best thing would be for Yugi to remember Nina. To do that, Yami always told Yugi stories about Nina. Yugi was currently under Mystio and Mystia's watch. Mystio was Yami's best friend and personal bodyguard. Mystia was more of an apprentice. She was a quick learner though and was able to learn spells faster than Mystio expected. Much goes without saying that he was very proud.  
"What do you think that Rameus will try next?" Mystia asked.  
"I don't know. But I know that it won't be good," Mystio responded.  
"I can't believe that he would break the truce we worked so hard to create," Mystia said.  
"Some people are like that Mystia. I know that it's hard to understand, but some people would rather be responsible for needless bloodshed than the need for peace," Mystio said.  
They were so into their conversation, that they didn't notice that Yugi had crawled out of the room. Once out of the room, he got on his little legs and half walked, half wobbled down the hall. He got a little better at walking each day since he turned a year old, but he still didn't have it down yet. If Mystio and Mystia had noticed Yugi gone, they would've seen that he was heading for the throne room.  
That wouldn't have been a bad thing if it were an ordinary throne room. But this throne room was reinforced with Shadow Realm's power. Only those with Shadow Powers could enter without being killed. Since Yugi was only a year old, he didn't have any Shadow Powers yet.  
Yami had returned to his room to find Yugi missing. He was now looking for his son. A few moments later, he heard giggling. 'That has to be Yugi,' he thought, following the trail of giggles. When he caught up to Yugi, it was almost too late to stop Yugi from entering the throne room. "Yugi, don't go in there!" he cried.  
But it was too late. Yugi had entered the throne room. The moment Yugi entered the room, purple lightning streaked through the room. Yugi thought of it as a game and weaved his way through the lighting. But it proved to be far from a game when he was close to being struck six times. Also, he felt weaker. As everyone knows, it's very odd when a one-year old is out of energy.  
"Yugi, stay still. I'll get you out," Yami said. He then walked through the otherwise very deadly room. He knew that he had to get to Yugi before one of the purple lightning bolts could make a deadly strike. He got closer to Yugi.  
One purple lightning bolt was right on target with Yugi. Fortunately though, Yami made it to Yugi before the bolt did. The Eye of Horus shone brightly on Yami's crown as a shield formed over both of them. The lightning bolt dissipated on contact with the shield, and the Shadow Realm faded out of the room. Yami gave a big sigh of relief, and the shield around him and Yugi also dissipated.  
"You had me scared Yugi," Yami said. "It's dangerous for you to be in here right now." He picked up his son and returned to his room.  
Mystio and Mystia were relieved to see Yami return with Yugi. "Where did he go?" they asked.  
"He almost got killed in the throne room," Yami responded.  
"We're sorry my lord," Mystia said.  
"Think nothing of it. You got to really watch infants. They can disappear when you're not looking," Yami said. He looked at Yugi to see that Yugi was cuddled up asleep in his arms. He smiled and placed Yugi on the large bed. He knew that he was going to have to teach his son Shadow Magic so that this wouldn't happen again.  
One thing about the Shadow Real is that if the lightning didn't kill someone, one without any kind of Shadow Magic would feel drained of energy until dying from severe energy loss. That's what almost happened to Yugi, and Yami was going to make sure that it wouldn't happen again. Yugi shivered as a cool breeze came into the room. Yami put the sheets over Yugi. Yugi giggled and went back to sleep.  
One of the servants brought food into the room. "Here's your dinner my lord," she said.  
"Thank you, you may go now," Yami said.  
The servant bowed and left the room. Yami awakened Yugi, and they ate. Half an hour later, Yugi was out like a light again because he was still very tired. The others smiled at this.  
"It's a shame that Rameus wants to kill Yugi. If not so stubborn, I'm sure that he would really like Yugi," Mystia said.  
"I agree Mystia, but there's no changing some people no matter how hard you try," Yami said. "You better head back to the Shadow Realm for now. I'll call if I need you."  
Mystio and Mystia nodded and disappeared back to the Shadow Realm. The flash of light, signaling Mystio and Mystia's return to the Shadow Realm woke Yugi. Yugi then started to cry.  
"Shh, Shh, it's all right Yugi. Don't cry," Yami said soothingly. He then began to sing a song that his mother sang ot him (A/N: I don't own this song. It's a song that I sing in my voice lesson here at school except that I changed the word God to Ra for the sake of the story. This is a story set in Ancient Egypt so the religion has to fit too right?).  
  
_"Sleep my child and peace attend you  
All through the night  
Guardian angels Ra will send you  
All through the night  
  
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping  
Hill and vale in slumber sleeping  
Ra, his loving vigil keeping  
All through the night"  
  
_ Yugi fell asleep under his father's soothing voice. Yami smiled and soon fell alseep himself. It had been a very long day and year, and sleep was calling to him. Sleep called to everyone in the kingdom. The year spent cleaning up and repairing the damage done took its toll on everyone, at it was good to be able to rest after the repairs were made.  
  
  
Here's the end of chapter 1. Well what do you think? I'm sorry about making you guys wait for so long. Now that the semester is coming to a close for me, things are pretty hectic to say the least. For all the fans of my story Seeing Isn't Always Believing, I'm working on the fourth chapter and will post it as soon as I can. Oh, and the song is called Angels through the Night. I would really love to sing it for you guys, but we're spread all over the country. Enough said for that. Preview for Chapter 2: The Miracle: A spy lurks in the palace. This spy is from the northern kingdom. The mission is to pose as a servant and wait for the perfect time to kill Yami. The spy is able to do that. But what is the miracle that will happen? You'll have to find out. Guessing is highly allowed until I post this chapter of the story. 


	2. The Miracle

Recap: The southern kingdom of Egypt rejoiced in the birth of Prince Yugi. But an attack cut the celebration short. Nina died as a human shield for her infant son. It was a sad moment, but everything was rebuilt and life moved on. Yugi wandered off from Mystio and Mystia and into the throne room. If not for his father Yami, Yugi would've died in the throne room because the Shadow Realm's power reinforced the room.  
' is thoughts  
  
Chapter 2: The Miracle  
  
The night was peaceful for the people in the southern kingdom. No one had tried to make trouble during the middle of the night. The next morning, everyone awakened to the new and very beautiful day. In Yami's room, Yami awakened first. He got out of bed and stretched.  
"Come on Yugi. It's time to get up," Yami said.  
Yugi slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He giggled when he saw his father and stretched his little arms out. "Dada, I want uppie," he said.  
Yami smiled at his son. "All right then," he said before picking his son up. "Well, we need to get washed up."  
"I know. Piddy back wide, piddy back wide," Yugi said happily.  
Yami chuckled a little bit. Yugi still couldn't pronounce some words properly, but Yami knew that Yugi would be able to pronounce them in due time. He placed Yugi on his back, making sure he had a firm grip on Yugi's arms. Yugi held onto Yami's neck, and Yami let go of Yugi's arms to now hold onto Yugi's legs.  
"Let's go," Yami said. He made his way down the long hallway to the washroom. When he arrived, his and Yugi's clothes were waiting for them. He also saw that the water had been drawn, ready to wash in. He kneeled down so Yugi would have only a short jump. "All right Yugi, time to get off," he said.  
Yugi jumped off his father's back and got undressed. Yami also got undressed. If a woman just happened to walk by, she would have swooned. Yami looked like he could've actually been a god. His body was tanned and muscular, but lean. And if you looked deeply into his eyes, you could see a strong sense of power and authority as well as a strong sense of love, trust, wisdom and respect.  
Yami went over to the bath pool and descended the steps and into the warm water. "Come on in Yugi. The water's fine," he said.  
Yugi on the other hand looked pretty skeptical. He was afraid of drowning since he didn't know how to swim yet. Yami saw his son's look and understood right away.  
"Don't worry Yugi. I won't let you drown. I'll hold you up," Yami said.  
"Otay," Yugi said. He made his way over to the bath pool, and Yami picked him up.  
Yami brought Yugi into the water, making sure that Yugi''s head was above the water. He washed Yugi first. After washing Yugi up, he placed Yugi out of the water and told him to dry off with a towel. Then Yami washed up and dried off when he was done. They got dressed and left the washroom.  
"Let's head to the banquet hall," Yami said.  
"Otay!" Yugi said happily. He ran ahead of his father.  
Yami smiled and laughed to himself. 'I'm surprised that Yugi can run better than he can walk(A/N: My parents told me that this was the same case with me when I was a year old. I could run before I could walk),' he thought. He then ran to catch up to his son. He soon caught up to Yugi and scooped Yugi up. "Whoa, what's your hurry?" he asked, continuing his way to the banquet hall.  
When they arrived, the advisors were already in the room eating. Yami put Yugi down and sat next to Seth. Yugi ran over to Yami and held his arms up. Yami smiled and picked Yugi up. Yugi wasn't tall enough to reach the chairs so Yami put Yugi in the chair next to him. Then they ate as well. Yami saw that something was troubling Marik.  
"What's bothering you Marik?" Yami asked.  
"I just can't shake the feeling that there's a traitor in the kingdom," Marik responded.  
"It's highly possible. We'll just have to be on our guard," Bakura said.  
"But who do you think could be the traitor? It can't be one of us," Seth said.  
"I don't know. It could be one of the other officials. It could even be one of the servants. But I would never betray this kingdom for anything," Marik said.  
"I wouldn't either," Seth said.  
"Neither would we," Isis, Bakura and Shaadi added.  
Marik didn't know that he was really onto something. He was right about his feeling. He and the others would soon find out that there was a traitor in the kingdom. The traitor was living in the palace, posing as one of the servants. This person's name was Pomidaeus, and she was a spy sent from the northern kingdom.  
After the attack on the southern kingdom, Rameus had Pomidaeus got to the palace. Her instructions were to become one of the servants, blend in with them, and to kill Yami when the right opportunity came. Choosing for her to be one of the servants really kept her from her true mission, which was to kill Yami. That was because she wasn't assigned to be Yami's servant, but Seth's.  
But Pomidaeus was very patient for a spy. She knew that all good things came to those who wait. She would wait as long as needed for the opportunity to arise. She guessed that Marik would have a feeling about a traitor so she lay as low as she could so Marik wouldn't suspect it was she.  
She had gotten along with the other servants quite well. But the others had no idea that she was really a spy from the northern kingdom. She was always taught to gain an enemy's trust before striking. That was because the attacks mostly came from enemies posing as friends and then turning on you when the right opportunity arises.  
The northern kingdom had done some extensive research. The idea of how to kill Yami was to poison him, but have it be a poison that there was no cure for, and was so strong that even magic couldn't help. After years of research, they finally found one. This was the only poison that didn't have a cure and couldn't be cured by magic. This poison was known as Fatality's Tears because of how fatal and powerful it was. The poison took half an hour to work, but it did its work every time. Every unfortunate person that happened to get it in his/her body always died within half an hour's time.  
Pomidaeus had a vial of the poison in her bag. She also had a small dagger in it. She planned to dip the dagger in the vial and then stab Yami in the heart with the poison-covered dagger. 'Your luck will run out Yami. Seth is planning to make me one of your servants. When he does, your life will be over,' she thought wickedly.  
She was one of Pharaoh Rameus's most loyal and skillful spies. Rameus had made her one of his advisors in addition to a spy. In other words, she was Rameus's right-hand woman. She swore loyalty only to Rameus. So anyone other than Ramues had to watch his/her back unless Rameus told Pomidaeus to stand down. But she was right about the transfer. Seth and Yami had talked about making Pomidaeus Yami's personal servant. Neither of them knew that that would be a jeopardizing move. Yami's life would be in real danger if Pomidaeus were to become his personal servant.  
Speaking of Yami, he and Yugi were out flying around the kingdom on Drago's back. Yugi laughed when Drago did some aerodynamics. Yami made sure to have a good grip on Yugi. Yugi was having a lot of fun riding Drago's back.  
"Can we do this moroe pwease?" Yugi asked.  
"Of course my son," Yami said.  
Meanwhile, the gods had planned on how to prevent Pomidaeus from killing Yami. They had told Mystio and Mystia about Pomidaeus's plans from the start and told them to play along until she struck. They knew the great power of the poison and made it hard to find. Until this point, no one had been able to find it. The gods would not have Yami die so quickly. Yami was their most loyal servant, and they had promised him a long life. They intended to keep that promise. They also knew that Yami would be Yugi's best source of protection.  
Time was running out fast because Seth had just told Pomidaeus that she would be Yami's personal servant. This was was just the opportunity she's been waiting for over a year now. Yami would die tonight. she would make sure of it. One thing about her is that she was the master when it came to stealth. She could creep into a room and kill without the person even suspecting it.  
It was mid afternoon when Yami and Yugi returned to the palace. Drago had gone back to the Shadow Realm. Yami entered his room to find Pomidaeus there. She sat on his bed awaiting orders while secretly planning her strike.  
"Ah Pomidaeus, would you be as kind to fetch some fruit?" Yami asked.  
"Yes my pharaoh," Pomidaeus responded. She left and came back with the fruit. She didn't poison any of it because she wanted to kill Yami herself.  
Yugi didn't like Pomidaeus and started crying. He could feel that something was very wrong about her. "Make lady go away. Make lady go away," he said while still crying.  
"You can leave now," Yami said.  
Pomidaeus nodded and left. When out of hearing range, she cursed out loud. 'That annoying little brat. Maybe I'll kill him after I kill his father. I can't have him spill the beans and reveal me,' she thought.  
"It's okay Yugi. She's not in here now," Yami said, rocking Yugi gently.  
Yugi quieted down and relaxed in his father's embrace. But he felt that something was terribly off with that Pomidaeus lady. Even though he was only a year old, it seemed as though he already knew who was trustworthy and who wasn't. Night came sooner than anyone thought.  
Yami had a suspicion that someone would try to something tonight. For safety reasons, he had Yugi sleep with Marik. Yugi had gotten along very well with all of Yami's advisors. Whenever Yami and his Shadow Monsters were busy with something, Yugi would be taken to one of Yami's advisors. Marik was the one with the freest time, so Yugi hung around him a lot.  
It was Yami's suspicion that would keep his son safe this night. About three hours later, the whole palace was asleep. Well everyone except Pomidaeus. Pomidaeus quietly snuck down the hall to Yami's room. When she got there, she very slowly opened the door so she wouldn't make any noise.  
'It's your time to leave this world Yami. My master will be thrilled to hear about your death,' Pomidaeus thought. She had dipped her dagger in the fatal poison and slowly crept towards Yami. She was soon over him and raised the dagger. She was about to bring it down when something blasted her backwards.  
"Oh no you don't Pomidaeus!" a voice shouted.  
Pomidaeus looked up to see Mystio standing next to the bed.  
"The gods told Mystia and me about your sinister plot from day 1, but told us to play along with your charade," Mystio said.  
"You really shouldn't have expected that we would all be clueless about you," a female voice said. Mystia then came out of the shadows.  
"I didn't know that it would be you. But I did know that someone would try to assassinate me. I summoned Mystio and Mystia after I put Yugi with one of my advisors," Yami said.  
"Oh but I will assassinate you. Soon your kingdom will also belong to my master," Pomidaeus said.  
Just then, Seth, Isis and Bakura burst in to the room. They saw Pomidaeus holding a dagger and immediately knew what she intended to do. Pomidaeus got up again, the dagger still in her hand. Bakura then caught a whiff of something in the air.  
'That smells like poison. It must be coming from that dagger,' Bakura thought. "Be careful everyone. She dipped her dagger in some kind of poison," he said.  
Pomidaeus lunged for Yami this time. Yami quickly rolled out of bed and stood up to evade the dagger. Mystio tried another Dark Magic Attack, but Pomidaeus was ready this time and dodged the attack. Yami snuck into the shadows of his room. He didn't make a sound. Now he had the chance to fight back. He was the best when it came to fighting in the shadows.  
Pomidaeus barely got out of the way of a black beam that seemingly came from out of nowhere. But she knew who fired it. "So you've taken to the shadows Yami. I love a good challenge," she said maliciously.  
"You won't win this night Pomidaeus. I might go easy on you if you surrender now," he said.  
"How foolish you are indeed Yami. I have never lost a fight, and I don't plan on losing one tonight," Pomidaeus said. "You might as well come on out where I can see you because I'll find you anyway."  
"We'll see if you can," Yami said. He then summoned the Shadow Realm in his room.  
Pomidaeus instantly realized her mistake. She might have been a spy, but she didn't have Shadow Magic. She knew that she had to make this quick or else she would die before killing Yami. "The Shadow Realm won't work this time Yami. I will get you before it gets me," she said.  
"It already sounds like it's getting to you. Can you really get to me before you die?" Yami challenged.  
Pomidaeus knew Yami was right. He could be anywhere in the darker shadows, and she felt the strain of the Shadow Realm on her. Meanwhile, the others were outside the Shadow Realm's space and could only watch, hope and pray. When Yami summoned the Shadow Realm, his advisors couldn't enter no matter how hard they tried. Yami clearly only wanted himself and the person that posed the threat to be in there.  
'I've got to find this guy,' Pomidaeus thought.  
'I don't want to kill her. I only hope for her to give up,' Yami thought. "What is your decision going to be?" he asked.  
Yami's voice sounded like it came from every direction Pomidaeus couldn't locate it. She was really feeling the strain now, but her king told her that once the Shadow Realm was summoned, it would remain there until there was a winner or the one who summoned it was too weak to sustain it.  
'If I could just get this dagger into him, the Shadow Realm will dissipate,' Pomidaeus thought. She then walked around, aware of what was around her. She then saw a dim flash of light. She followed it.  
Soon, the light fiercely began to circle around her. She started slashing the dagger around wildly. It was a stroke of sheer luck that she nicked Yami on the arm. She heard the hiss of pain and slashed again. Another hiss of pain came. Then she saw the Realm begin to fade. It faded enough for her to see Yami right in front of her. She smirked and plunged the dagger into his heart.  
The others could hear the cry of pain. They immediately knew that it was Yami. When the Shadow Realm completely faded away, they could see Yami lying on the ground with Pomidaeus holding a now bloodied dagger.  
"Murderer!" Seth shouted, lunging for Pomidaeus.  
Pomidaeus wasn't prepared for the lunge. Seth grabbed her and forced her to drop the dagger. Bakura picked it kup and threw it into the air. Mystio then destroyed it. Pomidaeus made the mistake of bringing her back with her. Bakura quickly went through it and found the vial of poison. He threw that up in the air, and Mystio destroyed that too.  
The northern kingdom found the fatal poison, but only made one vial of it, figuring that one vial was all they needed. Now that the poison was destroyed, they would no longer be able to use it. But the damage had been done. The pharaoh of the southern kingdom lay dead on the ground in a pool of his own blood.  
"The pharaoh is dead. Now my master will rule upper and lower Egypt," Pomidaeus said smirking.  
"That will never happen," a voice said.  
Everyone looked up to see a glowing angel. The angel hovered over Yami's dead body. Marik had come into the room after hearing Seth's outburst. The first thing he saw was Yami lying lifeless on the floor. But then he saw the angel over Yami.  
"Who are you?" Marik asked.  
"I am an angel of Ra. I was sent to help the pharaoh," the angel responded.  
"There's nothing you can do," Pomidaeus spat at the angel.  
"You're wrong spy of Rameus. One thing to never do is to underestimate the power of the gods," the angel said.  
Everyone gasped when the angel said who sent Pomidaeus. Then the angel's light became a little brighter. She closed her eyes as she flew down closer to Yami. Then something very unbelievable happened. The angel merged with Yami. Yami was then encased in the same white light as the angel.  
Yugi woke up because the light had reached Marik's room. He went to see what it was about. He saw his dad glowing on the floor and ran to him. "Dada, pwease wake up," Yugi pleaded. He sat next to his father's unmoving body.  
Then the body began to lift into the air. The light then got very bright. Everyone had to shield his/her eyes. If not for the light's bright intensity, they would've been able to see Yami's wounds closing. As the wounds closed, the poison in his system dissolved away. Yami then opened his eyes as shining light gray-feathery wings sprouted from his back. Soon the light died down.  
Everyone saw Yami and gasped. Yami's wounds were gone and he now had wings. Yami touched down on the ground, and Yugi ran to him.  
"Dada, you're alive!" Yugi said, still running to Yami.  
Yami smiled and kneeled. Yugi ran right into Yami's open arms and gave Yami a big hug. Yami returned the hug, careful not to squash his son.  
"But now can you be alive?" Pomidaeus asked.  
Yami ended his hug with Yugi and faced Pomidaeus. "The angel merged with me. Since angels can't get sick, get hurt or die, the poison in me was obliterated. You or anyone won't be able to kill me again because once an angel of Ra, it is permanent," he said. "Your pharaoh's chance of killing my son has just gotten slimmer. Lock her up in the dungeon and throw away the key. If she tries to escape, summon the Shadow Realm until she gives up," he added.  
"It would be my pleasure," Seth said. He dragged Pomidaeus off to the dungeon.  
"So you're a full angel now?" Isis asked.  
"Not exactly Isis. True an angel merged with me, but my Shadow Powers now balanced out her light powers," Yami responded.  
"So what would that make you?" Marik asked.  
"That would make me an angel of light and shadows," Yami responded.  
"Dada's an angel. Dada's an angel," Yugi chanted happily.  
"What was that poison anyway?" Bakura asked.  
"That was known as Fatality's Tears," the voice of Ra responded. "Before the northern kingdom, it was used for much needless killing. The other gods and I made it hard to find. But when the northern kingdom found it, it made us realize that the real solution was to destroy it. So we destroyed the Fatality's Tears plants so the poison can never be used again," the voice added.  
Yami waved his hand, and the blood on the carpet vanished. He picked up Yugi and placed Yugi on the bed. "I think we've had enough excitement for one night. Get some rest everyone," he said.  
The others nodded and went back to their chambers. Yami put the sheets over Yugi and sat on the bed next to his son. Being an angel of both light and shadows, just being an angel for that matter would take some getting used to. But Yami knew that he would be able to handle it. The gods had performed the ultimate miracle to save his life, and he would not let that miracle be in vain. He knew that Rameus would really stop at nothing to kill Yugi. But Yami would try his best to always be prepared.  
  
Well, here's the awaited second chapter. I'm very sorry for making you guys wait, but things were pretty busy for me this past month. I've had papers due, tests and finals to take and a speech this past month and a week. But I got out of school on Wednesday the 5th and am out for the summer. So that means faster updates now. I will do my very best to update my stories faster now that I have a lot of time to work on my stories now. Moving right along, preview for Chapter 3: The Abused Slaves: It is absolutely intolerable to abuse slaves in the southern kingdom. But three young slaves recieve a beating everyday for no good reason. Will these three slaves ever get away from their abusive slave masters and to someone who will respect them? You can guess if you want. I'll make sure to congratulate you if you guess who the three abused slaves are correctly.  
  
Oh, and I forgot to mention something at the end of chapter 1. All villains in this story will be OCs. I thought what if all the Yugioh characters were good guys, so that is why all the Yugioh characters in this story will be good guys. 


	3. The Abused Slaves

Recap: Things had returned to normal for a little while in the southern kingdom. But good things don't always stick around no matter how much you want it. The servant Pomidaeus was actually a spy from the northern kingdom, waiting for the right opportunity to take out Yami permanently. She almost succeeded, but an angel of Ra merged with Yami. Now Yami is an angel of both light and shadow.  
' is thoughts  
  
Chapter 3: The Abused Slaves  
  
Seven years have passed since Pomidaeus's attempt to assassinate Yami. Pomidaeus almost succeeded in killing Yami, but an angel of Ra merged with Yami. That action not only saved Yami's life, but it also made him and invincible immortal. Now, Yugi really had the best source of protection, his father.  
Speaking of Pomidaeus, she was still in the palace dungeon. Even after seven years of being a prisoner, she still didn't learn anything. She had killed some of the guards in attempt to escape, but Seth had stopped her chance of escape short by summoning the Shadow Realm. Seth was in charge of making sure that no prisoner escaped. None had ever escaped during Yami's rule, and Seth would make sure that none did.  
Yugi was now 8-years old. He also now had Shadow Magic in him. Since his near death experience when he was a year old, Yami, his advisors, Mystio and Mystia had made sure that Yugi learned Shadow Magic. Yugi started learning Shadow Magic at age 5. Yami and the others made sure to do it slowly of course. They decided to take it in levels. When Yugi got comfortable with one level, then he moved to the next.  
Yami had taken it upon himself to train Yugi to summon Shadow Monsters. That way, Yugi could have someone to protect him when his father or advisors wouldn't be able to. Yugi had learned pretty quickly. How quickly Yugi learned it even surprised Yami, and many things don't surprise Yami. So Yugi's quick learning in this area was a huge accomplishment, and Yami was very proud.  
"You are doing very well in your Shadow Magic training my son. I'm very proud of you," Yami said.  
"Thanks daddy. I never thought that it would be this easy," Yugi said.  
"Actually, it's not easy at all Yugi. Except for me and you, everyone who has Shadow Magic now had a very difficult time learning it," Yami said.  
"It was easy for you too?" Yugi asked.  
"Yes it was," a new voice responded.  
Yami and Yugi looked to see Bakura. They smiled at him.  
"How are you today?" Yami asked.  
"Fine thank you," Bakura said smiling. "The others and I always said that Yami had a knack for things. Learning Shadow Magic and how good he is at Shadow Games proved that. Like him, you're a quick learner Yugi. You're learning Shadow Magic just like he did when he was 5-years old."  
"You were only 5 when you learned Shadow Magic?" Yugi asked his father.  
"Yes Yugi, I was only 5. I had a similar experience as you did when I was a year old. I wanted to spend some time with my father, but he was in the throne room. Like you, I didn't know that the power of the Shadow Realm radiated through the room. I too almost died in the throne room. So my father decided to train me in the art of Shadow Magic like I decided to do with you," Yami responded.  
"Can we go flying daddy?" Yugi asked.  
Yami smiled. "Sure Yugi. Let's go," he said. He and Yugi walked outside before he picked Yugi up. Then he spread his wings and flew off into the bright sky. He was soon over the kingdom.  
Yugi loved flying with his father. Whenever Yami wasn't busy, he always took his son flying. If he was busy, then Drago took Yugi flying. Yugi just looked down over the now tiny kingdom due to how high in the air that he and his father were.  
"I always love when we do this," Yugi said.  
"I do too my son. All you have to do is ask. If I'm not busy, then I will take you flying. You can also summon my Shadow Monsters," Yami said.  
Meanwhile in another area of the kingdom, there was a slave camp. Although in saying this, the slave masters at this camp were very friendly people for the most part. There were a few that tried to be "Mr. or Ms. Superior", but the others respected their slaves. The slaves in turn respected the slave masters.  
However, there were three unfortunate slaves who had conceited slave masters. These three slaves were Joey, Malik and Ryou. They were abused almost constantly. They did their chores the best they could, but it always wasn't good enough to their slave masters. The other slaves and slave masters don't even know how Joey, Malik and Ryou manage to put up with their slave masters. Joey was 14 and so was Malik. Ryou was only a year younger at 13. They had been slaves since they were only 5-years old.  
"You think that our slave masters will ever respect us?" Ryou asked.  
"As conceited as they are, I'd be surprised if they do. No matter what we do, it's not good enough for them. Even trying to escape didn't do us people for who they always found us. I hope that somethone who respects people for who they are will buy us. I don't know how much more of this I can take now," Joey responded.  
Then Joey, Malik and Ryou felt whips tear into their backs. They screamed out in pain as the whips tore into their skin more times. The whips stopped at 15, meaning that they each got 15 lashes.  
"Maybe that well teach you that we are your superiors. Don't even think about escaping again. We always find you, and your death will be assured if you try to escape again," a very dark-skinned slave master said. His name was Lortheus.  
"The other slave masters may respect you, but you aren't under their supervision," a tan-skinned slave master said. His name was Portheus.  
"If you were to do the job the way we want it, maybe we would respect you," a light-skinned slave master said. His name was Mortheus.  
Meanwhile, Yami flew on through the air. He was coming up on the slave camp and decided to see how the slaves were doing. He slowly descended on the camp.  
"Why are we landing?" Yugi asked.  
"I want to see how the slaves are faring up. Not all the slave masters are friendly. If I see evidence of slave abuse, then I bring those slaves to the palace," Yami responded.  
"You can do that?" Yugi asked incredulously.  
"Yes Yugi. Before my father, the pharaoh or official had to pay to remove the slaves from the camp even if the slaves had signs of abuse. When my father took power, he changed that," Yami responded. He soon landed on the camp.  
One of the friendly slave masters was surprised upon Yami's sudden visit. "Greetings my pharaoh, it's a surprise to see you here," he said.  
"I was just taking my son flying. We came across this area so I decided to stop by. How are all the slaves doing? Are there any that have been abused?" Yami said.  
"All the slaves except three are doing just fine. I feel sorry for those three poor slaves," the slave master said.  
"Who are these slaves?" Yugi asked.  
"Their names are Joey, Malik and Ryou. They have been abused for no reason. I'm amazed that they've been able to put up with Lortheus, Mortheus and Portheus for this long," the slave master responded.  
"How long have they been slaves?" Yami asked.  
"Since they were 5-years old," the slave master responded.  
Yami's blood boiled upon hearing that. Abusing slaves for that long for no reason was highly unacceptable. He would be sure to take those slaves to his palace. He placed Yugi down, and they went further inside the camp. They decided to split up since the camp was pretty big. But Yami didn't worry about Yugi too much. Yugi knew how to defend himself when in danger.  
Yugi soon came across a dark room. 'I wonder what's in there,' he thought. He went into the room to find it as dark as a tomb. 'A little magic will brighten things up,' he thought as his hand glowed a golden-colored light. He explored the room with his now lit hand. He wished that he didn't light up the room because there was dry and wet blood all over the floor and walls.  
Yugi followed the trail to find the source of the blood. The blood came from three boys. The boys were currently resting. Yugi looked over them and gasped in horror. He saw the whip marks all over the boys' bodies. He couldn't understand why someone would do something this horrible for no reason.  
'I better find daddy. He'll want to see this,' Yugi thought. He whipped around when he heard the door creak open. He knew that he had no time to teleport or hide.  
Portheus, Mortheus and Lortheus came in the door to see someone else there.  
"Who are you and why are you in here?" Portheus asked.  
"That is none of your concern," Yugi responded authoritatively.  
"What makes you think that you can talk to us like that?" Lortheus asked.  
"You might be a slave master, but I am a lot higher in rank than you are," Yugi responded.  
"And what rank might that be?" Mortheus asked.  
"He's my son," a deep voice responded.  
Lortheus, Mortheus and Portheus looked back and saw Yami standing at the door. Yami did not look happy upon seeing the three boys on the floor.  
"Nice of you to join us daddy," Yugi said.  
"Please mighty pharaoh. Let us explain," Portheus said bowing.  
"I don't need to hear an explanation. One of the other slave masters told me what you do. You know that I don't accept hearing about slaves being abused for no reason. And to do it since they were only 5 is totally unaccpetable. From this day forward, you are no longer slave masters," Yami said before snapping his fingers, sending them to the dungeon. He then looked at the three wounded slaves. "Joey, Ryou and Malik will be coming with me," he added. He walked over to them and healed them using his light powers.  
Joey, Malik and Ryou regained consciousness and sat up. They were very nervous upon seeing Yami.  
"Don't worry. You three are safe now. You will be coming with me to my palace. You'll be respected there," Yami said.  
Joey, Malik and Ryou were overjoyed upon hearing that. They would now be under people who would respect them. Yami led them out of the camp and summoned Drago. Joey, Malik and Ryou got about Drago's back, and Yami picked up Yugi. Then Yami and Drago flew back to the palace.  
"You're going to love being in the palace," Yugi said.  
"We're just glad to be away from our slave masters. It was like going through hell and back with them. I'm Malik by the way," the tanned boy said.  
"I'm Joey, and the white-haired boy here is Ryou," the blonde one said.  
"My name is Yugi, and this is my father Yami," Yugi said.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you prince, pharaoh," Ryou said.  
"Please, just Yugi will do. I really don't like the formality bit," Yugi said.  
"I don't either. Just call me Yami," Yami agreed.  
Joey, Ryou and Malik were shocked to say the least. They wouldn't have believed it if not for hearing it with their own ears. Yugi and Yami preferred to be called by their names. That was pretty unusual for royalty. But then the three slaves smiled.  
"All right Yami, Yugi," Malik said.  
Yugi took a closer look at Ryou and Malik. "Daddy, isn't it incredible how Ryou and Malik look like Bakura and Marik?" he asked.  
"I know. The resemblance is almost uncanny," Yami responded.  
A little while later, Drago and Yami landed at the palace. Yami put Yugi down, and Joey, Ryou and Malik dismounted Drago. Drago returned to the Shadow Realm, waiting for when he would be needed again. Yami and Yugi led the three slaves inside the palace. Joey, Ryou and Malik were amazed to say the least. They felt like they had just entered a paradise. The sun glinting off of the golden kingdom was incredibly beautiful.  
"Did I die and go ta heaven?" Joey asked.  
"I know what you mean. This place is amazing," Ryou and Malik said together.  
Just then, Seth and Bakura came out of the palace. Bakura and Seth gasped upon seeing Ryou. Ryou, Joey and Malik gasped upon seeing Bakura.  
"You look like me," Ryou and Bakura chorused together.  
Bakura came up to an arm's length of Ryou and looked him over more closely. He and Ryou could see the small differences. Bakura's eyes looked sharper than Ryou's. Ryou's hair wasn't as spiky as Bakura's was.  
"My name is Ryou sir," Ryou said bowing.  
"My name is Bakura. You don't have to be formal with me. I never did like that because it made me look like "Mr. Superior". I'm trying to steer clear of that," Bakura said.  
"Okay Bakura," Ryou said smiling.  
Just then, Marik and Isis came out. Malik and Marik gasped upon seeing each other. So did Seth, Ryou, Bakura and Joey.  
"You look just like me," Malik and Marik chorused together.  
It was true. Malik and Marik could've easily been mistaken for identical twins. The only thing telling them apart was the difference in clothing.  
"My name is Malik," Malik said.  
"You can call me Marik. This is my sister Isis," Marik said.  
"Pleased to meet you. And who is this young one that look like you Bakura?" Isis said.  
"This is Ryou," Bakura responded.  
"My name is Seth. Who are you?" Seth asked the blonde boy.  
"My name is Joey," Joey responded.  
"Are Joey, Malik and Ryou slaves?" Isis asked.  
"Yes they are. I brought them here because a slave master told me that their slave masters abused them for no reason. What's even more unacceptable is that they were abused since they were only 5-years old," Yami responded.  
The others gasped upon hearing that.  
"Where are those jerk slave masters?" Bakura asked angrily.  
"I put them in the dungeon," Yami responded. "It will be a long time until they come out."  
"So what are we to do now?" Malik asked.  
"Do you want to work as personal servants?" Seth asked.  
"As long as it's to you, Marik or Bakura," Ryou responded.  
"Very well then. Ryou, you will be Bakura's personal servant. Malik goes to Marik, and Joey will be Seth's personal servant. Bakura, Marik, Seth, will you take these three into the palace and get them changed out of their blood-stained clothes?" Yami said.  
Bakura, Seth and Marik nodded, and they led Joey, Ryou and Malik into the palace. This was the start of a new life for Joey, Ryou and Malik. They had been mistreated for most of their lives, but now things would start to get better for them. But unknown to anyone, Pharaoh Rameus himself was nearby.  
'If I'm to take over this kingdom, I'll have to get Yami and his little son out of the way. They stand between my conquest, and me,' Rameus thought. Fortunately, he didn't know that an angel had merged with Yami yet.  
The peace would soon be over for Yami and the others. Rameus returned to the northern kingdom. The need to protect Yugi would soon shoot through the roof. Rameus was now busy plotting his next attack on the southern kingdom. He wanted to kill Yami and Yugi in this attack.  
'You just spent your last day in the sun Yami. For tomorrow morning, I attack. This time, you and your precious son will perish, and I will take control of your kingdom,' Rameus thought.  
  
Well, here's the next chapter of this story. Preview for Chapter 4: The Second Attack: Rameus strikes the southern kingdom again but with more force than the last time. But Yami is away helping out a kingdom in Rome. Will the southern kingdom of Egypt hold out with Yami in Rome? Or will Rameus be successful? You'll have to keep reading to find out.  
  
As I mentioned in another story, this is one of two chapters to two different stories. The first chapter to my new Digimon story will definitely come tomorrow. I will be really getting ready to go to Vegas with my parents on Friday, and I want to only be focused with preparing for the trip because we leave early Saturday morning. I'm really excited because I can gamble now that I'm 21. 


	4. The Second Attack

Recap: Pomidaeus had been sentenced to life in the dungeon. Seth foiled every escape attempt she tried to make. Yami and Yugi on the other hand went flying through the kingdom. They flew over a slave camp, and Yami decided to make a surprise visit. He and Yugi found out about the not justified abuse of three of the slaves. It turned out that two of the three slaves looked just about like Marik and Bakura. These slaves' names were Malik and Ryou. They and their friend Joey were taken back to Yami's kingdom to be Seth, Bakura and Marik's personal servants.  
( ) following Kurribo's language is the translation  
' is thoughts  
  
Chapter 4: The Second Attack  
  
Nightfall swept across the land. Yugi and Yami were currently in their room. Ryou was in Bakura's room, Malik in Marik's room and Joey in Seth's room. The former slaves of the slave camp couldn't hold in their awe of the kingdom. They still could barely believe that they would be living in a beautiful place like this. Seth, Bakura and Marik had proven to be very nice and Ryou, Joey and Malik knew that they would be happy to be personal servants.  
"I see that you like being here already," Bakura said.  
"I still can't believe that I will be spending the rest of my life here. This is a paradise compared to the slave camp. The slave camp was nice, but this is amazing," Ryou said.  
Bakura smiled at Ryou's amazement. "It is good living here. Even though this is a paradise, we still have trouble sometimes," he said.  
"What do you mean?" Ryou asked.  
"Our worst threat is the northern kingdom in upper Egypt. The people there are warlike and manipulative. They are very evil. It is not a place to visit because the only ones that the guards don't capture or even kill on the spot are people who are as evil or more evil than they are," Bakura responded. "We had a truce with them, but the stubborn Pharaoh Rameus broke it with an attack on our kingdom when Yugi was born."  
"Can you tell me about it?" Ryou asked.  
Bakura told him everything that happened. He ended with telling how Yugi lost his mother in the attack. Ryou felt bad for Yugi. It must be hard to live without a mother. Meanwhile, Joey and Seth, and Malik and Marik had the same discussion. Joey and Malik also felt bad for Yugi. They were right about it being difficult for Yugi.  
Everyday, Yugi thought about his mother. Yami had always told him stories about Nina. It always made him very sad that his mother died when he was very young. Yami saw the look on his son's face. He frowned as well. He still thought of Nina everyday. He loved her for her great personality. She was always full of life and could always bring light into someone's day, no matter how sad the person was.  
Like Yami, Nina was always willing to help whenever the need came. She also show as much care, love and understanding, trust and respect for the people of the kingdom as Yami did. She also loved Yami as much as he loved her. Yami couldn't have chosen a better person to be his queen.  
'Oh Nina, I wish that you were still here with me. But I know that you are with Ra and the other gods now. That face alone gives me the strength to go on,' Yami thought.  
"Why did my mother have to die?" Yugi asked.  
"There are people who will do anything to kill someone Yugi. They will go as far as to kill members of the person's family. There's not much we can do about it. There are a lot of people who are like that. But our current threat is the northern kingdom. There is really no reasoning with those people. They are very evil. I hope that you won't ever have to face them. That's my greatest fear now," Yami responded.  
"The people are that bad daddy?" Yugi asked.  
"Yes my son," Yami responded.  
That night, the entire palace except Yami was asleep. Since he was an angel now, he really never had to sleep anymore. So he watched over his son. He couldn't shake the thought that something very big and very bad would happen. He would end up being right. Two bad things would end up happening though. One would be from the northern kingdom, but the other would come from a sister kingdom to the southern kingdom.  
Thousands of miles to the east, was another paradise kingdom. This was the kingdom of Rome. The Romans were very good friends of the southern kingdom's people. Their way of keeping in contact was through trading. Occasionally, people of the Roman kingdom would visit the southern kingdom and vice versa. But the kingdom had a catastrophic danger that it always had to deal with.  
This danger didn't come in the form of a person. It came from Mother Nature herself. This danger was the active volcano Mt. Vesuvius. The volcao was about only a mile north of the kingdom(A/N: I know that Mt. Vesuvius really isn't close to Rome, but it will be for this story). There was no body of water or ravine of any kind between the kingdom and the volcano, guaranteeing extensive destruction. That's what happened every time Mt. Vesuvius erupted.  
"We need to send for help right away your majesty. Mt. Vesuvius looks like it will erupt any time now," a tall light-skinned blonde man said. This man was Porus, one of the high officials.  
"I know Porus, and we will send for help. Through our trading with the southern kingdom, we heard about the almost successful attempt on Yami's life and how he's an angel now. He will be our greatest source of help now," the king said. "Have a messenger send for him immediately."  
"Yes King Atheus," Porus said. He quickly left the palace and headed for the messenger's living quarters. He knocked on the door. "Is anyone still awake? This is very important," he said.  
The messenger's wife was still awake and opened the door. She bowed upon seeing Porus. "What can I do for you sir?" she asked.  
"I need to speak with your husband. It is very urgent," Porus responded.  
"Right away," the wife said. She turned towards her and her husband's room. "Aldaeus, Official Porus needs to have an important word with you!" she called.  
"I'm coming Candice," Aldaeus responded. He came out of the room. He was a dark-skinned man with black hair in the Afro style. He came up to Porus. "What do you want of me sir?" he asked.  
"I need you to send a message to our friend Pharaoh Yami. It is extremely important that you get through my friend. Mt. Vesuvius will erupt at any time now, and we'll need some big help," Porus responded.  
"You can count on me sir. I'll get changed and head for the southern kingdom right away," Aldaeus said. He returned to his room and quickly got changed. Then he kissed his wife goodbye before heading to the docks.  
'I hope you make it in time dear,' Candice thought.  
Meanwhile in the northern kingdom, the army was preparing for the upcoming attack on the southern kingdom. They couldn't hold in their anxiety to get another chance at killing someone. They basic plan of attack was a double meaning. The army would attack at full force, but it would also serve as a distraction. A few members of the army would secretly get inside the kingdom and return with the young prince.  
Meanwhile, the gods were with Aldaues. He made good time and arrived in the southern kingdom before morning. He immediately went to the palace. Yami was just out of his room for a little while when he heard someone knock. The sound of the knocking suggested that it was urgent. Yami opened the door. Even though Aldaeus heard about Yami being an angel, he was more amazed seeing Yami in person.  
"What is it Aldaeus?" Yami asked.  
Aldaues bowe and kneeled on one knee. "Pharaoh Yami, we need your help in Rome. Mt. Vesuvius is close to erupting. It could erupt at any time," he responded.  
"This is very serious. Wait here, I'll be back in a minute," Yami said. He called for all of his officials and told them of the problem.  
"Go Yami, we'll handle things here," Marik said.  
"I think that Yugi should come with me," Yami said. He had a bad feeling that something bad would happen to Yugi if Yugi stayed in the kingdom.  
"We'll look after him. You need to help our friends in Rome. You can provide more help than all of us combined now," Seth said.  
"All right," Yami said nodding. He quickly went back to Aldaeus. "Let's go and quickly," he said.  
Aldaeus nodded, and he and Yami set out for the boat. Again, the gods were with them and gave them swift and safe travel to Rome. They were at the dock at late morning. Yami looked up to see the volcano. Thick black smoke was coming out of the top. Then the ground started shaking violently.  
"We must act quickly. Mt. Vesuvius is about to blow," Yami said. He and Aldaeus rushed into the kingdom. "Mystio, Drago, Slifer, come forth. Your help is greatly needed," Yami summoned.  
A dark purple light shot into the sky. Mystio and Drago then immerged from the light. Then a virtually earth-shattering roar filled the air. Slifer had appeared from a rippling of power in the air. The three monsters looked towards the north and saw the dangerous situation about to happen.  
"What do you want us to do my lord?" Mystio asked.  
"You and Drago help to evacuate the people. Slifer and I will work to keep the lava from reaching the kingdom," Yami responded.  
The three monsters nodded, and Slifer and Yami flew off. Stopping the lava wasn't going to be that easy. The lava from Mt. Vesuvius usually fans out to be thousands of feet wide so this was going to be a tough job. While, Yami, Mystio, Drago and Slifer were helping the people in Rome, Rameus's army was now fighting against the southern kingdom.  
The attack started when a few flaming boulders were catapulted over the wall. The southern kingdom's army was caught off guard by the sudden attack but prepared for what looked like the biggest battle of their lives.  
The northern kingdom's army came at full force. Three members of the evil army had managed to sneak inside the palace. They immediately searched the palace for Yugi. Yugi was in the throne room. With his father away in Rome, he led the people for now. Even though, he was 8-years old, he was very mature for his young age.  
'Mystio, Drago and Slifer are with my father. But there are others I can summon when I need them,' Yugi thought. He heard the doors slam open to reveal three of the evil army's men.  
"You're coming with us whether you like it or not," the evil army men said.  
"I'm not going without a fight," Yugi said. "Mystia, Celti, I summon you," he added.  
A dark blue light shone through the room. Mystia and Celti stepped out of the light. Mystia tightened her grip on her staff and Celti brought his sowrd up to a battle position. They would not give their young master up without a fight. Yugi also got into a battle stance. He had learned to fight and defend himself from his father and Bakura.  
"Kurribo, I need a favor," Yugi called out.  
A giggle filled the air. Then a little brown furry creature came out of a brown ball of light. He floated over to Yugi. His cheerful expression grew serious upon assessing the situation.  
"Kurri ri ku(Waht do you need young master)?" Kurribo asked.  
"I need you to find my father and tell him that the kingdom is under attack. You must hurry," Yugi responded.  
"Kurri ku(You can count on me)," Kurribo said before disappearing in a ball of brown light. Kurribo had an ability that only Yugi knew about. Kurribo could teleport great distances. But he still wasn't strong enough to make it all the way to Rome in one teleport yet. He would have to teleport more than once to reach Rome.  
The nothern kingdom's army sent a barrage of huge flaming boulders over the walls with catapults. The flaming boulders destroyed everything they landed on. There were sword fights adn hand-to-hand combat also going on. The evil army of the northern kingdom had been taught to make sneaky moves. The army's sneakiness is what gave them an edge for now.  
Other men of the evil army used demon Shadow Monsters. The men of the souther army who had Shadow Magic dealt with this threat. The officials were ready to do battle as well. They knew that their input in fighting the evil army would be more than the evil army could handle. They were so focused on the large battle outside the kingdom, that the thought of Yugi needing help never crossed their minds.  
Meanwhile back in Rome, Mt. Vesuvius had already erupted. Lava was slowly oozing down the mouth, making its track towards the kingdom. Yami and Slifer had been hard at work creating a ditch deep enough and wide enough to stop the lava from destroying the kingdom. Mystio and Drago had helped the entire populace of the kingdom evacuate to a safer area. Mystio then went to find and help Yami and Slifer. He found them halfway between the kingdom and the volcano. Mystio then landed next to Yami.  
"The people are in a safer area my lord," Mystio said.  
"That's great news. We can really use your help here," Yami said.  
Mystio nodded before using Dark Magic Attack after Dark Magic Attack to help create a large ditch that led to an underground river. Time was of the essence. The lava had made it down the base of the mountain and was heading straight for the kingdom. Everything that the lava touched either went up in flames or melted into the lava. Slifer used a very strong lightning attack to finish the ditch.  
The ditch was two miles deep and three miles across. That way, if some of the lava didn't fall into the ditc, it would be diverted away from the kingdom. The moment of truth had come. The lava had reached the area that Yami and his monsters were. Luck was on their side. They made the ditch wide enough. All of the lava flowed into the ditch towards the river below.  
"Well, we did it. The kingdom is saved, and that ditch we created will prevent the lava from reaching the kingdom from now on," Yami said.  
"I'll go back and tell the people the good news," Mystio said before disappearing.  
A couple of hours later, Mystio and Drago returned with the Roman people. They were glad to see that Yami was successful in stopping the lava from reaching the kingdom. Then Yami and Slifer arrived as well.  
"You have my eternal gratitude for saving my people," King Atheus said.  
"It's nothing Atheus. If you are ever in a situation that is too much for you to handle, all you have to do is send for me," Yami said smiling.  
"Kurri(Master)!" a child-like voice shouted.  
Yami and the others looked to see a little brown ball of fur appear. Kurribo looked out of breath. Yami could tell that something bad was happening when he saw the terrified look in Kurribo's eyes.  
"What's the trouble Kurribo?" Yami asked.  
"Kurri ri ku kurri. Ku ri kurri ri(Rameus's army is attacking your kingdom. Your son is fighting against some of the men)!" Kurribo responded frantically.  
"What?" Yami asked horrified. His greatest fear had happened. "I must leave immediately," he said.  
"Go Yami. Your kingdom needs your help. More importantly, your son needs you," Atheus said.  
Yami nodded and flew off immediately. Mystio and Kurribo disappeared, and Slifer flew next to Yami. They had to make it in time. Even though Yugi knew how to fight and defend himself, he wouldn't be able to outlast some of the northern kingdom's men. The northern kingdom's men were still more powerful than Yugi now.  
'Hold on a little longer Yugi. I'm coming,' Yami thought.  
Meanwhile back in the southern kingdom, the southern kingdom army was winning against the evil army. Seth, Bakura and Marik had joined in the fighting as were overwhelming the army. Seth had summoned Blue and Obelisk. Malik had summoned the Winged Dragon of Ra, and Bakura helped to fight off the evil army. Bakura was the second best fighter in the kingdom. Yami was the best fighter of the kingdom. The southern kingdom army drove off the northern kingdom's army.  
But no one had gone into the throne room. Yugi and his loyal monsters were doing their best against the evil men, but were losing. Even though it was only three of the northern kingdom's men, they were stronger than Yugi and his monsters thought. They had been fighting the evil men for three hours now. Mystia had used every move that Mystio taught her, but she still wasn't strong enough yet. Celti had managed to get a few hits in on the men, but even he began to fall victim to them.  
'Daddy, please hurry!' Yugi thought. 'These men are a lot more powerful than I thought they were.' He was still outclassed against them in Shadow Magic. He couldn't fight in mortal combat because one of them would just blast him away with Shadow Magic.  
Then the inevitable happened. One of the men cast a sleeping spell. Yugi, Mystia and Celit fell asleep. A second man took Yugi and bound him up in energy shackles. Then all three men disappeared out of the throne room. Seth had come into the throne room a few seconds later to find Mystia and Celti asleep on the floor. He felt a strong magic still in the air.  
"I have no doubt that that was a sleep spell," Seth said. He chanted a wake-up spell, and Mystia and Celti woke up. "What happened?" he asked.  
"Three of the northern kingdom's men had made it here. Yugi, Celti and I tried our best to fight against them, but the were too powerful for us. Then one of them cast a sleeping spell on us. I fear that they took Yugi while we were asleep," Mystia responded.  
"Seth!" a deep voice shouted.  
Seth turned back and saw Yami running down the corridor. Yami soon stopped in front of Seth.  
"Is Yugi all right?" Yami asked.  
"I'm afraid not Yami. I just came in here to find Mystia and Celti sleeping on the floor. I woke them up, and Mystia told me that some of the northern kingdom's men slipped past the defenses and put a sleeping spell on Yugi, Celti and her. Then the men made off with Yugi," Seth responded sadly.  
"I have to rescue him," Yami said determinedly.  
"There will be a lot of men guarding the area. You can't handle them all," Bakura said. He and the others had entered the throne room a few seconds after Seth.  
"Oh I can handle them all right. It is them that won't be able to handle me," Yami said. "You forget; I am an angel."  
"I guess I did," Bakura said.  
"When are you going to leave?" Isis asked.  
"We need to thend to the others first," Yami responded.  
"We'll do that Yami. Go and rescue Yugi. What happened is my fault for not listening to you," Seth said.  
"It wasn't your fault my priest. You didn't know that this would happen. None of us did," Yami said. He then went outside the palace and took off into the air. He had to save his son. 'Don't you worry Yugi; daddy's coming for you,' he thought. He headed for the northern kingdom.  
Meanwhile, Yugi was a prisoner of the northern kingdom. He sat in the dungeon, the energy shackles still around his hands and feet. He was whipped 15 times before being thrown into the dungeons. He knew that he wouldn't be in the dungeons forever. He knew that he was going to be killed. One of the guards opened his cell and removed the enery shackles. The guard had a whip and was about to whip Yugi again. Yugi grabbed the whip.  
Yugi's hand glowed with dark energy. The energy flowed through the whip and into the guard. The guard tried to scream, but nothing came out. He fell down unconscious. Yugi quickly made it out of the dungeon before the other guards came in. If he went down, he would go down fighting. He just hoped that his father would make it in time.  
'Oh daddy, please find me. I know that I can't last against these people forever,' Yugi thought desperately. He then began feeling the pain of his wounded back. He wasn't wearing anything to cover it, which made the whiplashes a lot more painful. He could only hope that he could hold out until his father could find him.  
  
Well here's chapter 4 of this story. I'm pretty impressed the way this chapter came out because it took me less than four hours to write and edit this. Moving right along, preview of Chapter 5: The Fight for Survival: Yugi must keep the northern kingdom's forces at bay long enough until Yami arrives. A good source of help appears to heal him and revitalize him. The battle to stay out of Rameus's clutches won't be an easy one, especially when the three evil army men who brought him here join in the battle. Can Yami rescue his son in time? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.  
  
Oh, and for those of you who were waiting for Yami to Mind Crush somebody, the wait will soon be over. Starting in Chapter 5, Yami will be giving some people of the northern kingdom a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm.  
  
For all you Digimon readers out there, the next fic to be updated will be Sight of Friendship. I will then update Digimon 02: The Strength of Friendship and Digimon 03: The Power of One after that. 


	5. The Fight for Survival

Recap: Malik, Joey and Ryou got a little more acquainted with their new owners. The three former slaves then learned a little bit about the sinister people of the northern kingdom. But the northern kingdom wasn't the only problem because a potential catastrophic disaster prepared to strike the Roman kingdom. The problem was so over the kingdom's head that a messenger was sent to ask for Yami's help. Yami went to help the Romans, but the northern kingdom attacked the southern kingdom the next day. Even though the southern kingdom did well against the northern kingdom, not everyone was accounted for in the end. Yugi was captured while everyone else was focused on the outside battle.  
' is thoughts  
  
Chapter 5: The Fight for Survival  
  
Yugi had just escaped from the northern kingdom's dungeon. The men that brought him to the kingdom whipped him while he was wearing the energy shackles. But one of the guards didn't think and removed the shackles, thinking that Yugi was defenseless.  
  
That proved to be wrong as Yugi grabbed the whip and sent his Shadow Magic through the whip. He knocked the guard unconscious and made his escape. But the lashes from when he was first whipped were pretty deep and were starting to badly bleed. He could only try to stay out of sight until his father came becaues he knew that he wouldn't be able to fight as well with his serious back injury for long.  
  
The fight with the evil army men and the serious wounds to his back really zapped his strength. He only had enough energy to knock the guard unconscious and escape. He didn't have the strength to summon Mystica or any of his father's monsters to help him.  
  
'My only chance is to stay out of sight. I don't know how long I can fight with my serious injury. I hope that daddy makes it in time,' Yugi thought.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami was streaking through the sky towards the northern kingdom. He still had quite a bit of ground to cover before he reached the evil kingdom, but he was determined to rescue his son. His eyes shone with fierce determination. 'I hope that Yugi will be all right until I arrive. I sense that he's badly hurt. If only he could summon Mystica. I know; I'll do it for him,' he thought. "Mystica, I need you," he called out.  
  
A blue portal appeared in the air. Mystica flew out of it before it disappeared. She flew beside Yami.  
  
"What do you need my lord?" Mystica asked.  
  
"I need you to go ahead of me to the northern kingdom. Find Yugi and heal him. I sense that he's badly hurt," Yami said. He was so focused on his son being healed that the thought of just teleporting to the kingdom never even crossed his mind.  
  
"Yes my lord," Mystica said before disappearing in a flash of light. She appeared outside the kingdom's walls. She could feel Yugi's presence nearby.  
  
True Yugi had Shadow Magic flowing through him now, but his innocence always shone like a star. He was the only innocent person in the evil kingdom. She disappeared again and reappeared in front of Yugi. Yugi was very glad to see Mystica.  
  
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you Mystica," Yugi said.  
  
"I'm glad to see you too. Your father sent me to find you. Now I'll tend to your injury," Mystica said before she began to chant.  
  
The whiplashes in Yugi's back began to mend. Soon, his back was completely healed. His energy was also restored. He stood up without pain. He then walked up and hugged Mystica.  
  
"Thank you Mystica. Now I have a fighting chance here," Yugi said.  
  
"You're always welcome young master. Be very careful. Your father is on his way," Mystica said.  
  
"I will," Yugi said before Mystica returned to the Shadow Realm in a flash of blue light.  
  
It was a good thing that Mystica found and healed Yugi. At that moment, the guards were out looking for Yugi. They saw the flash of blue light and went to investigate. Upon arriving where they saw it, the found Yugi standing there completely healed.  
  
"How is your back healed? We felt how weak you were. We know that you didn't have the strength to summon a Shadow Monster who knew how to heal," the guards said.  
  
"That's my secret," Yugi said defiantly.  
  
The guards quickly surrounded Yugi. They snapped their whips, ready to strike Yugi from all sides. Yugi simply increased his Shadow aura. The dark energy surrounded him a few seconds before the guards struck. The whips melted away on contact with the dark energy. Yugi then closed his eyes and focused on his power.  
  
The aura expanded until it engulfed the guards. The guards screamed in pain. To them, the aura felt like thousands of razor sharp needles sticking into their skin. But their screams weren't heard. They eventually fainted from the pain. Yugi moved on through the evil kingdom, looking for somewhere that would keep him out of sight.  
  
'I never liked the idea of killing. Even though the guards tried to kill me, I'm glad that Mystica healed me and restored my strength so I could defend myself. Those whips striking at once would've killed me,' Yugi thought. He felt a little drained of energy after launching that attack on the guards. 'That counterattack used more energy than I thought. I have to keep from using that much energy unless I truly have to.' He didn't know that that would happen sooner than he thought.  
  
The three evil army men that brought Yugi in found the guard unconsciouis in the dungeon. It was obvious that the guy removed the energy shackles, thinking that Yugi was defenseless. The guy had learned the hard way to never underestimate your opponent.  
  
"Well, it looks like we have to bring the prince back in," the first man said.  
  
"Why not just kill him and report back to Pharaoh Rameus?" the second man asked.  
  
"Even though our king is going to have the young prince killed anyway, it would be better if the young prince is brought back here," the first man responded.  
  
"That's right. I want him brought back here alive so I can decide how he dies," another voice said.  
  
The three men looked back to see Rameus standing in the doorway. "Yes Pharaoh," they said.  
  
"Now bring the young one back to me," Rameus said.  
  
"Yes my pharaoh," the third man said before he and the other two left to find Yugi. "The prince won't stand a chance against us. We really outclassed him."  
  
"We sure did. Let's hope that the battle will be quick. I can sense that he's been healed," the first man said.  
  
"But how?" the second man asked.  
  
"I don't know. But I intend to find out," the first man responded.  
  
They soon came across more unconscious guards on the ground. Obviously, the prince had dealt with them. Speaking of the prince, Yugi had dealt with a dozen more guards. He was feeling pretty weakened because he used a considerable amount of power. Fortunately, he had found an area of the kingdom that no one had ever been in. He could rest there.  
  
Meanwhile, the three evil army men found more of Yugi's handiwork. They were even more determined to turn the boy prince in to their pharaoh. They aslso knew that it was just a matter of time until it happened. They thought of dozens of death possibilities for the prince.  
  
The hours rolled by. Nightfall came quicker than anyone expected, but it was a good thing for Yugi. He was still pretty exhausted after using a great amount of power to deal with the guards. He slept peacefully this night. Yami still flew on strong. He would not give up unti Yugi was safe at home. There were no incidents in the northern kingdom tonight, giving Yugi the chance to fully rest and regain his energy. He woke up fully refreshed the next morning.  
  
But trouble was rapidly approaching. The three evil army men who brought Yugi to the northern kingdom were back on the trail. Yugi managed to find some fruit trees. He climbed the tree and picked some of the fruit. He ate in the tree and climbed back down when he finished. He then moved on.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami was closing in on the northern kingdom. Because he was an angel, he didn't need to rest. He was only a day away from the kingdom now. 'Just hang in there Yugi,' he thought as he flew on.  
  
Meanwhile, the inevitable battle with the evil army men had finally come into play. They had the stroke of luck to run into Yugi. An intense battle had raged on. But Yugi had the advantage this time for now. He could summon Mystio to help him.  
  
"Mystio, come to my aid. Help me fight off these evil men," Yugi called out.  
  
A beam of purple light shone into the sky. Mystio then stepped out of it. His eyes narrowed at the sight of the evil men and he gripped his staff tighter. Mystia told him what happened, and he wasn't going to let the evil men succeed in capturing his young master again.  
  
"You won't succeed even with the Dark Magician helping you," one of the evil men said.  
  
"I have a trump card this time. And I'm not afraid to use it," Yugi said.  
  
The evil army men fired dark beams of energy at Yugi, but Mystio easily cancelled them out. Yugi then summoned Mystia. Because Mystio was here this time, Mystia felt a power boost. She then joined Mystio in the battle against the evil army men. Mystio and Mystia had the full attention of two of the three-army men. The third man and Yugi engaged in mortal combat.  
  
The evil army man should've had an advantage since he had more training in battle than Yugi did. But what the man didn't know is that Yugi had the two best fighters in all of Egypt has his personal trainers. Even though Yugi was an eight-year old, he fought like he was in an army.  
  
'How can this little boy be so good in combat?' the man thought angrily.  
  
Yugi then foot swept the man. Then he used a little Shadow Magic to render the man unconscious for a good while. Then he went to aid his fellow Shadow Monsters in battle. Mystio and Mystia, who had the advantage at first, were now having trouble. That's because more of the evil army's men had come to help their comrades.  
  
Yugi, Mystio and Mystia were outnumbered 15 to 3 now. But they wouldn't give up. They gave their best shot at facing the evil army. But alas, the large difference in number gave the army a large advantage. The army easily began to wear down Yugi, Mystio and Mystia.  
  
"We can't keep this up much longer," Mystia said.  
  
"It seems like now is a good time to use my trump card," Yugi said. He then stood in between Mystio and Mystia before placing his arms out a little and to either side of him.  
  
A circle with a star inside it appeared under Yugi's feet. Mystio and Mystia knew what Yugi planned to do as soon as the symbol appeared. They feared for their young master's life.  
  
"Don't do this little master. It's too risky. We don't know if you're strong enough yet," Mystia said.  
  
"It's the only chance we've got against all these guys Mystia," Yugi said. He then looked towards the sky. "O great leader of the gods, I summon thee. Help my friends and me to defeat this evil army. Exodia, come to my aid," he added.  
  
The symbol beneath Yugi's feet then went into the air. Exodia slowly began to form in the mortal realm. The first thing to come was his legs, then his body before the arms. Finally, Exodia's head formed on the body. The mighty god stood before the evil army men. The men cowered in fear upon looking at Exodia.  
  
"How could he summon Exodia?" one of the evil men asked.  
  
"The bigger question is how can we fight against him?" a second army man asked.  
  
The men couldn't see Yugi straining. He didn't have a problem with summoning Mystio and Mystia, but summoning Exodia had taken a lot more energy than he thought. Mystio and Mystia immediately knew what was going on. Yugi wasn't strong enough to keep Exodia in the mortal realm for long. Exodia also sensed this.  
  
'I must act quickly. The young master doesn't have the energy to sustain me in the mortal realm for a long period of time yet,' Exodia thought. He then formed the Obliterate attack before sending it at the men.  
  
The men couldn't get out of the large attack's path and were killed the moment the attack hit. It was a good thing too because Exodia then went back to the Shadow Realm. But there was a bigger concern to deal with now. Yugi's physical and Shadow energy were dangerously low.  
  
'Exodia took a lot more energy than I thought it would take, he thought as he watched Mystio and Mystia disappear back into the Shadow Realm as well. He then passed out from overexterting his energy.  
  
Unfortunately, that was just the opportunity that a certain evil ruler was looking for. Rameus had seen Yugi summon Exodia. He knew that he young prince didn't have the necessary energy to keep Exodia in the mortal realm for long. 'Perfect. Now I can take him without any struggle,' he thought. He took Yugi back to the dungeon.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami had sensed his son's plight. 'Oh Yugi, why did you summon Exodia? As you found out, you weren't strong enough to be able to sustain him yet,' he thought. He was more determined than ever to reach his son now.  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi awakened to find himself in the dungeon again. He saw that it was nighttime. He felt shackles around his wrists and ankles again. He figured that someone else must've been near the area and took advantage of his loosing consciousness. He still felt extremely weak from trying to sustain Exodia. 'At least I know not to do that again until I'm strong enough,' he thought.  
  
Then, Pharaoh Rameus came into the dungeon. He stopped when he was in front of Yugi. "Your little escape attempt has failed because you were foolish enough to summon Exodia. Even I felt that you weren't strong enough to handle him yet. As far as your fate, you will be hanged at dawn on Deadman's Cliff. Even if someone does manage to cut the rope before you die, you'll still die after hitting the razor sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff," he said before going out of the dungeon.  
  
Yugi tried to get into as comfortable of a position as he could, considering the shackles that bound him. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. Some of his energy would be replenished, but ti would take at least three days for his energy to be completely restored. That was the consequence of trying to summon a monster that you couldn't sustain.  
  
Meanwhile, Yami was closing the gap. He was almost there now. He only had an hour's travel left. He couldn't stop worrying about Yugi. 'Just hang in there a little longer my son. I'm almost there. I'll get you out of that evil place soon,' he thought.  
  
The hour went by quick. Yami landed outside the kingdom before walking in. He magically hid his wings for the time being. He walked through the kingdom cautiously. Fortunately, Yami knew where the dungeon was because he had to visit at least once a year during the truce, even though he didn't want to. The northern kingdom was still a bad place to be even during the truce. How the people kept the truce for ten years even though they were very corrupt was a mystery that hasn't been solved to this day.  
  
Unfortunately, one of the elite force men happened to be scouring about. He soon saw Yami. "So, the father has finally arrived. It was fun seeing your son's agony. His screams of pain were music to our ears. Pharaoh Rameus has ordered his death by matters of hanging at Deadman's Cliff once the sun begins to rise. It is my and my comrades' orders to keep you from saving your precious little prince," the man said.  
  
Yami just narrowed his eyes. He didn't have time to be tangling with the northern kingdom's army. He had to get his son out of the dungeon as quickly as possible.  
  
"Prepare to die Pharaoh Yami," the evil mand said as he lunged, sword at the ready.  
  
Yami simply grabbed the sword and ripped it from the elite man's grasp. Then he broke the sword over his knee. "I don't have time to deal with you so I'll make this quick," he said.  
  
"It will be as long as I want it to be," the man said before taking a seashell from his pack and blowing it for a few moments. "I just gave the warning signal. The entire army will be here in seconds," he said.  
  
"I can take on all the armies of the world if I had to. Nothing will stop me from getting to my son. You'll be the first to find out," Yami said as the Eye of Horus shone brightly on his crown. "If your pharaoh hadn't broken the truce, it would've kept me from doing this.  
  
But now I have unlimited ability to used this here," he said as the eye shone even brighter. He stretched out his hand, palm facing the evil man. "You've hurt innocent people besides my son for far too long and now the punishment is eternity in the Shadow Realm. Mind Crush!"  
  
The evil man screamed as the dark energy ripped through his mind. He fell to the ground in a lifeless heap; his soul forever trapped in the Shadow Realm. Just then, the rest of the kingdom's army had arrived. They immediately went on the offensive upon seeing Yami.  
  
'Well, the man will possibly have some company in the Shadow Realm,' Yami thought before preparing to fight. He knew that he had to do this as quickly as possible because there were only four more hours until dawn.  
  
Some of the evil men threw daggers at Yami. Yami just let them come at him. The daggers bounced off him like a rubber ball bounces off a wall. Seeing that made the evil men very nervous. Yami simply smirked at their reaction.  
  
"That only tickled," Yami said.  
  
"No way!" the army men shouted in disbelief.  
  
"Yes way. Nothing you do will be able to kill me anymore," Yami said.  
  
"You're bluffing," one of the men said.  
  
"I'm afraid that I'm not bluffing," Yami said before his face became stony. "I already sent one of your men to the Shadow Realm. Are you foolish enough to want to join him?"  
  
Then a dozen men lunged for Yami. They attempted to grab him, but only felt open air instead. "Where did he go?" they all asked.  
  
"Why don't you bozos look up?" a deep voice asked.  
  
All the men looked up and grew scared upon what they saw. Yami had wings and was hovering in the air. But then Yami felt an energy decline coming from Yugi. In Yami's distraction, the men fired their Shadow Magic at him. Yami felt himself in a large Shadow net. He just smirked all the same.  
  
"You think that you can hold me in this weak thing?" Yami asked.  
  
"I'd like to see you try to break out of there. Every one of us put our magic into the net, making it a lot stronger," another evil man said.  
  
"As you wish," Yami said, never loosing the smirk. He widened his eyes, and a slit began to form in the net.  
  
The slit became larger and larger until it was a big hole. Yami then flew out of the hole in the Shadow net. The men became terrified upon seeing that. Yami had gotten out of that net like it was child's play.  
  
"I told you that what you do is pointless against me. But it's time for this game to come to an end," Yami said as his face became stony again.  
  
One of the men lunged at Yami in desperation to kill him. Yami held his arm out; his palm faced the man. The eye on his crown shone bright.  
  
"Mind Crush!" Yami shouted.  
  
The man screamed for a few seconds before falling lifelessly to the ground.  
  
"Anyone else wants to try me?" Yami asked in challenge.  
  
The other men simply retreated in response. There was no way the were going to do anything else to a proven unstoppable foe. Yami then made his way to the dungeon to free his son. But Yugi's death date would occur sooner than Yami thought.  
  
One of the evil army men had reported to Rameus. Utterly displeased, Ramues increased the energy of the energy shackles around Yugi and took him towards Deadman's Cliff. It was now a race against time. Yami had gone through the dungeon to find Yugi not there. But there was a note in the cell that Yugi was in.  
  
The note read: If you are now reading this note, it means that you're too late to save your son because I am on my way to Deadman's Cliff. Unknown to you, one of my men told me of your quicker than expected arrival. I decided to kill your son before dawn. Rameus  
  
'I've got to hurry,' Yami thought. He quickly made his way out of the dungeon. Then he spread his wings and took to the air. 'Rameus has a good head start on me. I can quickly gain on him by traveling through the Shadow Realm.' He then opened a passageway to the Shadow Realm.  
  
Meanwhile, Rameus was almost at Deadman's Cliff. He had only an hour's travel left. He knew that Yami wouldn't catch up in time. "Your life will soon be over. There's no way your father can catch up to me now,"he said.  
  
"Don't underestimate my father. He'll find a way to get here in time," Yugi said.  
  
"I don't think that's likely since I have a good head start over him," Rameus said. He didn't know that his head start had just been seriously cut down.  
  
By traveling through the Shadow Realm, Yami had almost completely closed the distance between him and Rameus. It was only a matter of time before Yami completely caught up to Rameus. 'I'm almost there,' he thought. He would have to hurry though.  
  
Rameus had made it to Deadman's Cliff. He then made a noose out of one end of the rope before putting it around Yugi's neck. He was about to tie the other end of the rope around the tree.  
  
"Hold it right there!" a familiar deep voice shouted.  
  
Rameus turned and saw Yami a few yards behind him. "How did you catch up to me this fast? I had a large head start on you," he said.  
  
"I traveled through the Shadow Realm," Yami said. "You will not kill my son."  
  
Rameus smirked. "Oh really? How can you save him if I were to do this?" he asked before pushing Yugi off the cliff's edge.  
  
"Yugi!" Yami cried. He ran to the cliff's edge and dove off it.  
  
Rameus's smirk grew wider. "You are a fool Yami!"  
  
Meanwhile, Yami had already spread his wings and continued diving after Yugi. A few moments later, Yami caught his son Bridal style. Then he broke the dive and began flying back up. "Are you all right Yugi?" he asked.  
  
"I am now that you're here daddy," Yugi responded.  
  
"Now, let's get those shackles off you," Yami said. He narrowed his eyes, and the energy shackles and the rope around Yugi melted away. "How do you feel?" he asked.  
  
"Some of my energy is returning. But I still feel very drained," Yugi responded.  
  
Yami was soon above the cliff. Rameus was very surprised upon seeing that Yami had wings. But the shock soon turned to anger.  
  
"How come you're still alive even though you have wings?" Rameus asked.  
  
"Your spy did manage to put that fatal poison in me. But Ra sent an angel to help me. The only way to save my lifee was for the angel to merge with me, which she did. I can no longer be hurt or killed, and I will do all in my power to keep you from killing my son," Yami said before heading back to his kingdom. He suddenly realized that he could've prevented everything that happened if he would've just teleported. He mentally kicked himself for not knowing this sooner before teleporting back to the southern kingdom.  
  
Seth, Isis, Ryou and Bakura were outside the palace. Ryou had just finished his work in the garden and was taking a little break right now. He was still very worried about Yugi. All the good people in the kingdom were worried about their young master. They prayed to the gods that their little prince would be brought back safely. Suddenly, they saw a black and violet light form.  
  
When the light dimmed out, Yami was standing there with Yugi still in his arms. Ryou, Bakura, Seth and Isis quickly crowded around Yami. They coud see that Yugi was sleeping. They were very thankful that their little prince had been brought back safely.  
  
"Will Yugi be all right?" Ryou asked.  
  
"Yes Ryou, he'll be fine. He'll need a good rest for three days, but he'll be all right," Yami responded. Then he went inside the palace. He went into his room and placed Yugi on the bed. He then brought the sheets up to Yugi's chin and kissed Yugi's forehead. "Rest well my son," he said.  
  
Well, another chapter of this fic finally bites the dust. Sorry for the wait. It's just that I was too preoccupied with another story that I'm writing. Also, things are coming down to the wire at school for me. Moving right along, preview for Chapter 6: The Escape: For seven years, Pomidaeus has been serving time in the southern kingdom's dungeon. But an unintentional mistake on a guard's part gives her the opportunity that she's been hoping for. She's out for revenge and targets Yugi. Will Pomidaeus be successful her plot? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.  
  
For all you Digimon readers who are still waiting for An Old Digimon's Vengeance to be updated, I'm about halfway done with the next chapter of the story and will update it as soon as I'm done with it. So be on the lookout for it. I will update the next chapter to An Enemy's Friendship after An Old Digimon's Vengeance is updated. 


End file.
